1. Field of the Invention
Example embodiments of the present invention relate to a silicon film, crystalline film and method for manufacturing the same. Other example embodiments of the present invention relate to a method of manufacturing a silicon film and/or crystalline film having greater crystallinity, greater uniformity and/or higher charge carrier mobility on a heat-sensitive substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Poly-crystalline silicon (poly-Si) may be used in electronic devices (e.g., flat display devices or solar cells) because it may provide higher charge carrier mobility than amorphous silicon (a-Si). Poly-crystalline silicon may have a higher charge carrier mobility and/or greater uniformity compared to single crystal silicon.
Single crystal silicon may be useful for a system-on-panel (SOP) structure in which a system may be formed on a display panel. The charge carrier mobility of the single crystal silicon may be greater than 300 cm2/Vs, which may allow for the manufacture of higher quality switching devices for display devices.
To obtain a poly-crystalline silicon film, after forming an amorphous silicon film on a substrate, the amorphous silicon film may be annealed using an excimer laser or a continuous wave (CW) laser. A limited region of the amorphous silicon film may be melted by the laser and crystallized to obtain a poly-crystalline silicon film. Due to costly laser equipment, the conventional method of manufacturing the poly crystalline silicon film may be expensive. Also, because it may difficult to process a large area of an amorphous silicon film according to conventional methods, a large area of poly-crystalline silicon film may not be obtainable. Grain sizes crystallized by annealing may be limited to approximately 20×3 μm. Therefore, the poly-crystalline silicon films obtained by conventional methods may include a larger number of defects (e.g., grain boundaries that reduce the uniformity and/or charge carrier mobility of the poly crystalline silicon film).